Landowners claim unkind cut

Couple says timber harvesters shorted them, left a mess

1of5Timber thieves cut down expensive hardwoods along North Moore Hill Road in Stephentown. They left behind an environmentally harmful mess. (Bob Gardinier / Times Union)2of5Timber thieves cut down expensive hardwoods along North Moore Hill Road in Stephentown. They left behind an environmentally harmful mess. (Bob Gardinier / Times Union)3of5Timber thieves cut down expensive hardwoods along North Moore Hill Road in Stephentown. They left behind an environmentally harmful mess. (Bob Gardinier / Times Union)4of5Timber thieves cut down expensive hardwoods along North Moore Hill Road in Stephentown. They left behind an environmentally harmful mess. (Bob Gardinier / Times Union)5of5Timber thieves cut down expensive hardwoods along North Moore Hill Road in Stephentown. They left behind an environmentally harmful mess. (Bob Gardinier / Times Union)

Stephentown

Along a dirt road in a remote corner of this rural town lies a mess of chain saw dust, piles of limbs and freshly cut stumps. What's missing are the trees, signs of what some say is bad logging that happens too often.

Attorneys and foresters said some loggers specialize in driving into remote rural areas to find choice timber. When they find a place with easy access and few nearby homes, they review tax maps to see who owns the property and call the owners with offers.

In a recent case, owners of property near the Cherry Plain State Forest claim loggers underpaid for quality standing timber.

The landowners' attorney filed suit and said the case exemplifies how some loggers damage the woodlands while shortchanging property owners.

Denis and Susan Murphy, a retired couple from Manhasset, L.I., inked a contract with loggers on the North Moore Hill Road property on which they have a summer home.

Dennis Rand, a professional forester from Connecticut hired by the landowners' attorney, Brian Baker of Stephentown, said the Murphys had up to $30,000 of choice hardwoods felled and removed between April and September. They have received $2,000.

Baker and Rand claim the loggers took advantage of his clients with shoddy and vague contracts and left behind a damaged forest.

More Information

Logging the right way

Owners of seasonal properties should get neighbors or retain someone to regularly check the property for suspicious activity. Proper post-logging forest management:

Leave some larger trees standing to give new growth some shade.

Repair machinery-rutted terrain to prevent erosion.

Cut tree debris (slash) into smaller pieces.

Do not leave large branches or felled trees on the forest floor in piles in a confined area, which slows decay.

"The landowner is a self-proclaimed New York City attorney, and if the contract was not sufficient for his purposes he has only himself to blame," said Granville lawyer Robert Winn. "If there is further accounting in this case that has to be done, it will be done."

Some loggers are especially keen when the owner lives out of state and is away from the property for extended periods of time, Baker said.

"And, if the property owners are ill and elderly, like the Murphys, they feel they hit the jackpot," Baker said.

The loggers typically get contracts with the owners by phone, fax and mail, Baker said. In many cases, the property owner does not hire a forester or attorney to review the property agreement.

"Not doing that is like going to court without an attorney," Schongar said. "When someone is selling their used vehicle, for instance, they know the value of it. Very few people know the value of timber, so are easily taken and should get professional help."

He said the state does not require a permit for timber harvesting on private land. As a result, the state does not compile statistics.

"If there is a stream that needs to be crossed, then we get involved," Schongar said. "A lot of what we see are weak contracts and the occasional hit-and-run logging and you may never catch them if no one sees an identifiable truck or evidence left behind," he said.

An investigation is under way in the Murphys' case and others that targeted their neighbors, state officials said without commenting further. Officials said other loggers and log haulers may have been involved.

Baker filed civil action in state Supreme Court in Rensselaer County before Supreme Court Judge Patrick McGrath on behalf of the Murphys.

The filing asked McGrath to issue an order forcing the loggers to produce log tally sheets from the sawmills or the buyers of the timber. The order also seeks to bar the company from returning to the property.

The suit is pending.

In a deposition on file in the civil case, Rand, the independent forester hired by Baker and his client, said neighbors saw trucks taking 15 to 20 loads of wood from a couple of North Moore Hill Road sites and up to 36 full cords of firewood.

"It was apparent the loggers were interested only in the most valuable hardwood timber," Rand wrote in the deposition.

He said he found 302 stumps of 12 to 30 inches in diameter that were cut — about 53,000 board feet.

Rand said shorting property owners on compensation is one thing, but the damage to the forest is worse.

"The fact that the owners may have been illegally underpaid is unfortunate," Rand wrote. "However, the damages to the woodlot due to extensive amounts of debris — in the form of slash and wasted material left on the ground — far surpasses the money possibly lost on the timber removal."

Rand estimated the cleanup and repair of the forest floor could cost $45,000 to $90,000, his deposition said.

"Some states have stricter mandates governing this business by New York does not," Baker said. "I'd like to see state law updated to save the forests from this practice."